Water skiing came about on Jun. 28, 1922 when Ralph Samuelson, an eighteen-year-old from Minnesota, proposed the idea that if you could ski on snow, then you could ski on water. Ralph Samuelson first attempted water skiing on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minn., towed by his brother Ben. The brothers experimented for several days until Jul. 2, 1922 when Ralph discovered that leaning backwards with ski tips up lead to successful water skiing.
As for proper water skiing equipment, for his first skis Ralph Samuelson tried barrel staves, then snow skis, and finally Ralph fashioned the first dedicated water skis from lumber he purchased and shaped. Samuelson made his bindings from leather strips and used a long window sash as a ski rope.
On Jul. 8, 1925 during an exhibition on Lake Pepin, Ralph Samuelson made the first water ski jump using a greased 4′×16′ ramp.
Also in the year 1925, Fred Waller patented the first water skis, called Dolphin Akwa-Skees. Ralph Samuelson never patented his invention. In 1940, Jack Andresen invented the first trick ski, a shorter, finless water ski.
Some dates of note in the sport of water skiing are as follows:
1922: Ralph Samuelson designed the first water skis from two pine boards and successfully skied on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minn.
1925: Samuelson made the first water ski jumps off a makeshift ramp.
Fred Waller patented the first water skis, the “Dolphin Akwa-Skees.”
1928: Don Ibsen develops his own water skis on the West Coast, never having hears of Samuelson or Waller.
1932: The first ski shows are held at the Century of Progress in Chicago and the Atlantic City Steel Pier.
1939: American Water Ski Association (AWSA) was organized by Dan B. Hains. The first National Water Ski Championships are held on Long Island.
1942: Cypress Gardens' first water ski show is organized by Julie Pope.
1947: A. G. Hancock and Dick Pope, Jr., became the first barefoot water skiers respectively.
Chuck Sligh set the first water ski jump record of 49 feet at the Dixie Water Ski Tournament at Cypress Gardens.
1949: First World Water Ski Championships held in France. Willa Worthington and Dick Pope, Jr., represent the U.S. and Worthington wins slalom, jump and overall titles.
Martin meters for measuring jump distances are introduced.
1951: Inaugural issue of Water Skier magazine, published by AWSA.
1954: Warren Witherell sets the first jump record over 100 feet, with the introduction of the first double wake cut. Dick Binette and Butch Rosenburg then jump 102 and 103 feet at the same competition in Laconia, N.H.
1957: The Johnson jump metering system of triangulation was adopted by AWSA.
1959: First Masters Water Ski Tournament held at Callaway Gardens, Ga.
AWSA hired its first paid executive director, William D. Clifford, and opened national headquarters in Winter Haven, Fla.
1960: Penny Baker tops 150 feet in Men's jump at the Lone Star Championships.
1962: Network television broadcast the National Water Ski Championships for the first time at Callaway Gardens.
1964: Barbara Cooper Clack became the first female water skier to top the 100-foot mark in jumping at the Florida State Open.
1968: The American Water Ski Educational Foundation (AWSEF) was chartered to fund the U.S. Water Ski Team, to plan and administer a Water Ski Museum/Hall of Fame and encourage educational opportunities for young skiers.
1969: AWSA writes the rules to sanction Water Ski Racing events. First official AWSA-sanctioned ski race is held in Lakeland, Fla.
1970: First AWSA-affiliated National Speedboat and Water Ski Association (Ski Racing) Nationals are held.
1972: Water skiing was an exhibition sport at the Olympic Games in Keil, West Germany.
1975: First Barefoot Nationals held in Waco, Tex.
First Barefoot World Championships held in Can berra, Australia.
1979: The first National Intercollegiate Water Ski Championships were held in Monroe, La., with Northeast Louisiana University winning.
1980: Bob LaPoint became the first skier to make a perfect pass on an 11.25-meter line (38 feet off) in a Record Capability tournament at the McCormick World Record Challenge in Seffner, Fla.
Water Ski Museum/Hall of Fame established by AWSEF in Winter Haven, Fla.
1982: Cory Pickos broke the 9,000-point mark in the International Orange Free State Tournament, a feat he later duplicated at the McCormick International Cup.
1984: The Coors Light Water Ski Tour, only standardized series of Pro water skiing in the world, began.
1986: The U.S. Barefoot Team won its first team title at the Barefoot Worlds in Kelheim, Germany. Previously, the Australians had dominated the World Tournament.
1987: First Kneeboard Nationals are held in Texas.
1988: Sammy Duvall set the distance jump record for Open Men by soaring 205 feet in Shreveport, La.
Deena Brush Mapple set the Open Women's World jump record of 156 feet on a five-foot ramp. (Not challenged until 1996).
1989: Andy Mapple of Great Britain set the Open Men's slalom record of 3 @ 41 off.
The U.S. Water Ski Team won its 21st consecutive World Championship Team title in West Palm Beach, Fla.
1990: Mike Kjellander of Sweden and Sherri Slone take the overall titles in the inaugural season of the Michelob Dry Water Ski Tour.
1991: The U.S. Water Ski Team placed second in the World Championships, held in Villach, Austria.
1992: The U.S. Barefoot Team won its fourth straight World Championship in England.
1993: Sammy Duvall set the Open Men's world jump record of 220 feet at the International Cup in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
1994: Wakeboard was introduced to TV by ESPN. Also was the first year wakeboarding was a competitive event at the Masters.
1995: The U.S. Water Ski Team took the silver medal for the third consecutive year at the Worlds in France.
Water skiing competed in its first Pan American Games, held in Santa Fe, Argentina. The U.S. Team won 4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal, as well as the silver for the team overall. Canada placed first in team competition.
1996: The first World University Trophy was held in Milledgeville, Ga.
AWSEF purchased property along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando, Fla., for a new Hall of Fame facility.
Mario Moser of Germany sets the new Men's World Barefoot jump record of 92 feet (28.10 meters).
Emma Sheers of Australia breaks Deena Mapple's long-held Open Women jump record with a 158-foot leap (48.2 meters).
1997: U.S. Olympic Committee recognizes water skiing as a Pan American Sports Organization and AWSA as the official National Governing Body.
AWSEF/AWSA launch a fund-raising campaign to build the new Hall of Fame and administrative offices on I-4.
Brenda Baldwin sets new World Record in Women's jumping of 166 feet (5-½-foot ramp).
Summarizing, Ralph Samuelson (1922) tried skiing over water first on barrel staves and then on snow skis. He finally found success on pine boards 2.5 meters (8 feet) long and 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide. Water-skiing really picked up speed after World War II, when affordable, high-horsepower outboard motors meant more people could own the fast boats needed to tow water-skiers.
The physics of water skiing works because pressure on top of the water skis (including the weight of the ski, the person, and the air above both) remains constant, whether the skier is at rest or moving. However, as the skier picks up speed, the water pushes against the bottom of the skis. The larger or longer the ski, or the faster a boat is traveling, the greater the total area and thus total pressure against the bottom of the skis, thus, the easier it is for a skier to stay up on the water. The average speed to keep a 68-kilogram (150-pound) adult afloat on water skis is about 32-40 kilometers per hour (20-25 miles per hour). But for barefooting, where all 68 kilograms of weight are concentrated on the soles of two feet the area is small compared to skis. To increase the total area and such the total pressure to a point sufficient for skiing, a speed of 56 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour) is necessary.
Different lengths and edges of water skis offer different combinations of speed and control. For instance, a beginning skier would want two longer skis for stability, with flat bottoms for riding high and fast on the wake. A more advanced skier could switch to just one ski, called slaloming, and use a beveled bottom for more controlled turns. And highly experienced skiers may choose a ski with a concave bottom, which holds turns by cupping water underneath.
Some expert skiers even add an underwater rudder with wings set at a particular angle to aid turning. These wings create drag and slow down the ski like a brake, making it easier to turn. Then, when the skier leans back to come out of a turn, the wings become parallel to the flow of water and offer minimal resistance.
Water skiing has been around far longer than many people would think, as stated above the first known record of anyone water skiing was a certain Ralph Samuelson of Lake City, Minn., USA who in 1922 eventually got up on his nine ft jump water skis. Having finally mastered the skis, he went on to build a ramp and became the first known water ski jumper Always looking for new things to achieve with his water skis, he later skied behind a flying boat. By a slow process of trial and error in the period before World War II, skills, techniques and competitive rules were gradually evolved. In the years immediately after the war these were systematized, sanctioned and codified following the formation of the World Water Ski Union in 1946.
Although the sport had long since progressed to free skiing (rope held in the hands) from single aquaplaning, equipment was still heavy and clumsy and boats in these early days were not designed specifically to cater for skiers requirements. It is only comparatively recently, therefore, from the fifties onwards, that the introduction of well designed new equipment and powerful, less expensive boats, has helped water skiing become so enormously popular the world over. The sport has, to some extent been boosted, no doubt, by the gradually increasing amount of leisure time available.
It follows naturally that the sport should have a fascination for families as a whole, for here is the ideal leisure-time activity in which all can participate—as energetically or casually as they feel inclined.
By its very nature, water skiing has flourished more rapidly in those Countries enjoying warm sun and water conditions—Australasian, Continental countries with a Mediterranean coastline and the more southern states in the USA. In countries with less favorable weather and colder water, progress has naturally been slower, but the establishment intensive and constant training, together with the advert of the really effective rubber wet suit, has inspired in recent years, enormous interest and development throughout Northern Europe.